All his daughters were in the living hall except for Gu Xijiu.
Gu Xietian frowned and looked at Leng Xiangyu before he asked, "Did you notify Xijiu?"
Leng Xiangyu cursed inside her heart. In the past, when her son came back that ugly girl would come on her own but not this time. She smiled awkwardly and sent her servant to go and invite Gu Xijiu before she explained, "Xijiu has always been close to Tianchao, so whenever he is back she will come out and welcome him. I don't know why she did not come out this time. I have been occupied all day making preparations and forgot about her…"
Gu Xietian nodded while watching his son, "Tianchao, have you prepared a present for Xijiu?"
Gu Tianchao never expected that his father would ask about this matter. He was slightly stunned but immediately smiled and said, "Of course! When Xijiu comes, I will give it to her personally."
Gu Xietian's smile indicated that he was satisfied with this answer.
Gu Tianchao looked calm, but inside his heart, he felt strange. His father had never cared about this ugly girl. What was wrong with him? Why did he suddenly pay attention to her?
The servant who was sent to invite Gu Xijiu came back in a short time and reported, "General, Madam, she claimed that she is not feeling well, so she is not coming."
Gu Xietian frowned and asked, "Not feeling well? What happened to her?" He stood up and walked outside. While he was walking, he ordered someone to go and ask for a doctor.
He walked very quickly and left the rest of his family in the living hall stunned.
Gu Tianyi could not stand it and said, "As the old saying goes... ugly people like acting. Let's see what issue she will create this time. She thinks that she is the first precious daughter."
Gu Tianchao was curious and asked, "Tianyi, what happened when I was away?"
Gu Tianyi was a talkative person, so she immediately brought her brother up to speed with recent events revolving around Gu Xijiu. The other sisters also contributed to the story.
Gu Tiancao listened quietly and looked at Gu Tianqing. Her eyes were lowered which made her look innocent. He then looked at his mother, Leng Xiangyu. Her well-maintained face was a bit pale and in her eyes he saw some anger and frustration.
He stood up abruptly and said, "It has been a long time since I last saw Sister Xijiu. Since she is not feeling well, let me go and visit her."
He wanted to see what had happened to that ugly girl who suddenly got so much attention from everyone. He felt that this ugly girl did not deserve to have any attention given to her. As he walked away, others in the room also followed him to see what would happen next.
...
When all of them reached Gu Xijiu's courtyard, they immediately caught sight of her sitting on the swing while Gu Xietian, who rushed over here, was standing beside the swing and pushing her. When the swing went too high, he would nervously say, "Slower, please. Don't swing too high. You'll have a headache. Please be careful and don't fall."
Gu Tianqing's facial expression changed. Her fists were clenched tightly this time. Even though she was her father's favorite daughter, she never received her father's help when she played on the swing. Her father, the general, would not bother to play with such child-related items yet he seemed to be enjoying his time with Gu Xijiu.
She and her other sisters felt bitterness in their hearts. All of them did not look happy.
Gu Tianchao frowned and looked towards the swing. He had a grave look on his face.
The ugly girl that he always looked down on could not have been wearing a red dress right now. As the swing moved back and forth, her stunning red dress and her black hair were gracefully caressed by the wind, creating a beautiful scene.
Before this, Gu Tianchao had only seen her look depressed. Moreover, she only wore dresses that did not fit. Her hair was so messy that it covered half of her face. All these features made her look timid and low standard.
Now, she was a different person. The red dress made her pale skin fair and bright. The birthmark on the forehead was covered by her black fringe. She had a lovely nose and bright eyes. And, as she had just exercised, her cheeks were still pinkish. Her often chapped dry lips now glowed in pink.
She still had the same face but looked like a different person. When Gu Tianchao gazed upon her, he no longer felt that she was ugly. In fact, she was somehow a bit charming.
While Gu Tianchao was stunned by Gu Xijiu's changes, Gu Tianyi could no longer suppress her feelings, "Xijiu, I thought you said you are sick. Why are you still play on a swing?"
Gu Xijiu ignored her but smiled at Gu Xietian and said, "Father, please push harder. I want to swing higher."
Gu Xietian was happy. It was the first time she called him father in recent days. He had waited for it for a long time.
He pushed harder this time but did not forget to say, "You have to be careful."
The crowd remained silent.
Gu Tianyi was embarrassed.
The other ladies were looking at each other too. Although Gu Tianqing had been good at hiding her feelings, her face was a bit pale. Her tightly shut lips revealed her dissatisfaction.
Gu Tianchao had an evil idea in his mind. He took a few steps forward and smiled before saying, "Xijiu, brother is back, and you never came out to welcome me. Instead, you are still playing on your swing. Come down and let me see if you have grown taller."
He reached out and grabbed the rope of the swing to force the swing to come to a stop. He acted too swiftly that Gu Xietian did not have enough time to stop him.
Gu Tianchao stopped the swing when it was at its highest point. The strong momentum made Gu Xijiu suddenly fall to the ground.
"Be careful!" Gu Xietian's facial expression changed as he screamed in caution. He did not manage to catch her but witnessed her petite body crash into the ground. This was exactly what Gu Tianchao wanted to see. He just wanted her to fall and make a fool of herself. It would be best if she could break her leg or something.
He pretended to be concerned and quickly approached his ugly sister, "Xijiu…" He intended to act at first, but when he saw the direction that Gu Xijiu was heading to his voice became serious, "Be careful!"
"Bang!"
"Argh!"
Gu Xijiu had crashed into Leng Xiangyu who stood somewhere in front of her.
Leng Xiangyu was not skilled in defending herself as she had been pampered for so long that she had forgotten everything she learned. When she was hit by Gu Xijiu in her chest, she screamed and was forced back by the sheer momentum of the crash. She fell in an awkward position, and her head knocked the hard ground made of green stones. Gu Xijiu also hit the ground hard and was knocked out.
Everyone was stunned.
"Mother!" Finally, Gu Tianchao was sober and ran towards them. He raised his hand and wanted to push Gu Xijiu away. Unexpectedly, before his hand grabbed hold of her, Gu Xijiu continued to roll off Leng Xiangyu’s body and Gu Tianchao ended up grabbing Leng Xiangyu’s chest.
As he used too much strength, he tore off a big piece of her shirt and exposed her chest…
Everyone was stunned again.